Notts County fans hit depths of despair

As football fans prepare for the romance of this weekend's FA Cup third round, many will have to deal with the pain of defeat. But spare a thought for the supporters of Notts County.

The perennial strugglers, currently mid-table in league two were named yesterday as the team most likely to make their fans miserable, according to a survey by Littlewoods Football Pools.

Supporters of the 92 Premiership and Football League teams were asked to identify the factors that caused most stress. Among them were the "yo-yo effect" of promotion and relegation, losing a home game (Notts County lost 2-1 at home to Chester on New Year's Day), narrowly missing out on promotion, and financial problems. MK Dons (formerly Wimbledon) and Carlisle are the next two most nerve-jangling clubs to watch. Portsmouth have the most stressed Premiership fans, followed by Manchester City and Watford.

Dave Rimmer, 27, a Notts County fan, said: "There are several different grades of terrible. If it's been truly terrible I don't speak to anyone for a while. I'm one of the more optimistic fans." Another County fan, Mick Jones, 60, said of defeats: "I would think the wife suffers the most." But he would not consider changing teams: "I would never dream of watching Forest on the other side of the river unless Notts were playing them."